With the economy on the ropes, hundreds of thousands of Americans losing their jobs, and a national debt over $10 trillion, it is time for lawmakers to take a hit where it financially hurts. With the election of the 111th Congress just more than a week away, this new Congress should save us some money and provide an important symbolic gesture by freezing its own pay.
Since 2000, real wages for most American's are flat or have even gone down; yet during that time Congress has, according to the Congressional Research Service, increased its own pay nearly 20-percent (from $141,300 to $169,300). In 1855, when Congress started earning a per annum salary, members earned $3,000; adjusted for inflation, that is about $67,000 in 2008 dollars.
Freezing its own pay while the nation is suffering through a financial crisis the likes of which most of us have never seen won't be the answer to all of our fiscal woes, but it will serve as a symbolic reminder that Congress feels our pain and is willing to take a small hit along with everybody else while times are tough.
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